ABOUT THIS ALBUM

Album Notes

ABOUT THE CD

“Two Days, Two Swords . . . Walk Alone at Midnight” was recorded in two eight-hour sessions (April 11 and 12, 2008). Almost a year later, out of the sweat and pockets of Nickei and Buko, Long Blade Records was founded and this debut was released. Originally home to Nickei’s first band, POPDeFECT, The Sweatshop / Imperial Coin was practically his home for 15 years. The Sweatshop was shared with many punk and indie bands in the Echo Park/Silverlake, home to early recordings by BECK and many others. In March 2008, they learned that their landlord was finally selling the building. They decided they it was important to record and put out one last album before the end of the Sweatshop. Their trusty friend, Scott Taylor, joined them and recorded and produced the album. Scott is a well-known L.A. producer & musician from dreampop bands Velouria and The Black Watch. Punk guru Mark Chalecki of Little Red Book Mastering mastered the album. Mark was the “Master” at Capitol Records Mastering. He has mastered over 200 albums by artists such as Merle Haggard, NWA, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Radar Bros, Earlimart, Dengue Fever, etc.

ABOUT THE SWORDS OF FATIMA

Nickei learned to play the drums when he was sixteen by listening to the Ramones’ Rocket To Russia over and over and beating the sweet Jesus out of a $75.00 Sears True Tone drum set. Shortly before grunge took over Seattle, Nickei moved to Los Angeles to conquer the world with his Los Angeles based pop-punk band POPDeFECT. After 20 years, POPDeFECT called it quits and played their last show in their hometown of Seattle on November 25, 2002.

Nickei continued playing drums in Masher, Project K and The Shards. In 2003, Buko and Nickei’s paths crossed when she replaced the original bass player of Project K, Io Perry. Io had left the band to join Tito and Tarantula, who also shared the Sweatshop until Tito (The Pluggz) moved to Texas. Overwhelmed with playing in two bands, Buko also left Project K to continue full-time as bassist for the all-girl glam psych band Lily and The Ladies.

Lily and The Ladies ruled the Silverlake/Echo Park underground scene for the three years they were together. The Ladies played their last show at the Roxy with manager Tim “Sugarpie” Ferris’ band Celebrity Skin for their 20-year reunion show. Don Bolles (Celebrity Skin, The Germs) later joined Lily in her solo career. Buko also went forth in a solo career on her banjo playing gothic psych-folk. In 2007, she missed playing with Nickei and asked him to play drums on her instrumental songs like “In Search for Power”. She wanted Nickei because he was the only drummer she knew who could play fast enough and do millions of rolls like some kind of crazed circus animal.

Buko first played bass at age 11, then bought a guitar a year later. She performed in bands since the age of 15, although none ever gained much attention. In 2003, a burglar broke into her apartment and stole her guitar and bass. She was left to play her banjo. She taught herself the claw hammer style but longed to play a sitar or oud. Later after years of belly dancing training, she developed an obsession for flamenco. She was then trained in flamenco dance and taught herself flamenco guitar. However, still attached to her banjo (her best friend for many years), today she plays a guitar in a banjo-styled tuning.

The guitar heard on the album is a hybrid of oud, sitar, banjo, flamenco guitar, and punk bar chords. She is fascinated by ancient stories and music from her heritage: Filipino, Turkish, Armenian, Spanish, Malaysian, and Indian. Her main influences for writing music are ancient folktales, caravans in the desert, sails sailing across the sea, Arabian nights, shamans, kundalini text, her grandmother who is a faith healer, documentaries, Samurai films, and classical music. For example, “In Search for Power” was written after she read the “The Serpent Power” (a book about Chakras). She wrote, “Call in the Reinforcements”, after watching The Shadow Warrior a film by Akira Kurosawa. Buko wrote most of the music alone on her couch either on her banjo or classical guitar. The rest of the album was written with Nickei during spontaneous jam sessions that took them either to desert dunes, storms in the ocean, riding with the giant squids in the Sea of Cortez, or roaming the streets in Morocco.

Through the imaginations of Nickei and Buko, you have The Swords of Fatima, “The World’s First Bollywood Surf Disco Punk Band”.

For More information, please visit The Swords of Fatima at their various online pages:Swords of Fatima Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Swords-of-Fatima/57491311302Swords of Fatima Myspace Page: http://myspace.com/swordsoffatimatheswordsoffatima.com or , or contact Buko and Nickei via email at: theswordsoffatima@gmail.com. They can also be found on YouTube, Stickam, and various other places on the web as well.